Romantic Dream
by starboard
Summary: A post FFVIII story about Seifer. Will eventually turn into SeiferxSelphie if things go well. Events start off right after the ending movie. I'm writing this for my cousin so if you don't like the flow of events, blame her.
1. Default Chapter

Romantic Dream

A post FFVIII story about Seifer. Will eventually turn into SeiferxSelphie if things go well. Events start off right after the ending movie. 

Chapter 1: Fish

It was a bright and sunny day. The shores of Balamb were calm and peaceful, reflecting nothing of the battle that just took place. It was a victorious one. The war of the sorceresses have been fought and won. The lunar cry was over. 

A serene calm engulfed the whole port of Balamb. It seemed like the very perfect day to go, well, fishing. think ending movie where Seifer and company were fishing

Seifer, Raijin, and Fujin were out fishing at Balamb port that day despite the fact that Balamb fish is not all that tasty. It was really more of fishing rather than the fish.

"It looks like the perfect day for fishing, boss." Raijin energetically said.

"FISH. HERE." Said Fujin in her usual monosyllabic way of talking, indicating the place where they were to stay.

"Looks good." Seifer replied, uncharacteristically detached.

After the whole involvement with the Sorceress, Seifer was lucky to have been accepted back at the Garden. He ought to be happy but he wasn't. His release from the Sorceress left him literally empty. He had nowhere to go and his lack of direction disturbed him. Yes, he had Balamb but it was back to square one. The very place he sought to get away from. 

_Maybe I'm just thinking about this too much._ Seifer let his eyes wander off into the sea. The vast, empty, infinite, sea. He let go of his worries and started working on his fishing rod. 

Ten minutes passed and still the waters of Balamb remained still and uninterrupted. There were no fish. Absolutely no fish. 

"Well, so much for fishing." Raijin said, halfway through a yawn. 

Seifer was getting increasingly bored with each passing second. _Maybe fishing wasn't such a good idea._ Ten more minutes passed…nothing. 

Temper rising, Seifer said, "Still no goddamn fish." 

Suddenly, a cry of triumph broke the deafening fish free silence. Raijin caught a fish. Ecstatic at finally getting a catch, he preceded no less in trying to break the port by jumping up and down with happiness. Jumping up and down, while waving his fish, _and_ singing a happy "I-caught-a-fish" song. 

"I caught a fish! I caught a fish! I caught a fish! I caught a fish!" Raijin said in a singsong voice doing his "I caught a fish" dance. 

He did not stop being overly histrionic about his oh so wonderful fish, much to the annoyance of Seifer. Much much to the annoyance of Seifer. Fujin tried to stop Raijin's celebration, seeing the look on Seifer's face.

"STOP." Fujin whispered to Raijin.

Seifer, _annoyed_, threw down his rod. Fujin, fuming at Raijin's very poor hearing, gave Raijin a hearty kick, sending him to his very watery, very fish-y grave. 

Seifer laughed. The first real laugh to grace his face for months. He laughed so hard, he threw back his head in laughter.

Then, a whirring noise came from the east and the wind picked up its velocity. Looking up, they saw a massive airborne structure. It was an elegant blue ship with golden propellers spinning below it. It was Balamb Garden. Seifer knew that his former classmates were there. His archenemy, Squall, Chicken wuss, Irvine, Quistis, Rinoa and Selphie – the gang that saved the day. And soon, he would be there too. At Balamb Garden. He smiled, sparkling blue eyes filled with mirth. 

_Maybe things will turn out fine._

**I'm not sure about his eye color.


	2. Default Chapter

Chapter 2: The cafeteria

            "Oh man, the fish got away. We coulda eaten it for dinner, ya know?" Raijin complained as the trio headed back for Garden. Sounds of Raijin's soaked, squeaky, shoes filled the background.

            "If you weren't such a self-absorbed bastard, you'd still have that fish." Seifer coldly said. 

            "RAIJIN. WATER. HAHA." Fujin said, still amused at the fact of Raijin falling into the sea and dripping wet beside her. 

            They reached Garden but not before a few gnats attacked them. The three weren't at all bothered. 

            "Good. Exercise." Seifer said as he struck down a gnat with his gun blade. 

            Finally, they arrived, definitely unscathed. 

            "Welcome back, Mr. Almasy." Cid said; the welcoming committee behind him. "Raijin, Fujin." Cid nodded to the two, acknowledging them.

            "I don't think I'm in need of any formalities, Headmaster." Seifer said, bowing to the headmaster nonetheless. 

            "You retain your old dormitory and class schedule but the disciplinary committee has been reappointed. You will understand why." Cid continued, unperturbed.

            "Yes, Headmaster." Nodded Seifer.

            "Well then, now that that's out of the way, I'd like to invite all of you to our celebration party tonight. At the usual place. See you there." The headmaster said, turning towards the elevator. 

            "Thank you, Headmaster." 

            "Let's hit the cafeteria." Raijin suggested, promptly walking towards that direction. 

            "FOOD, AGAIN?" Fujin said, throwing her hands up in exasperation. 

            On their way to the cafeteria, a girl wearing bright yellow bumped into the three of them. She was burdened with the highest stack of ribbons ever and it was a miracle that they didn't come crashing down on them. Following her, trying to prevent the ribbons from falling down was a tall lad in a cowboy get-up.

            "Aw, come on Selphie. Can you please slow down? It's four hours away!" Irvine complained, clearly tired of being Selphie's slave.

            "Exactly why we have to hurry! This place needs a real pepping up so we have to make everything extra perfect." Selphie reasoned, her voice filled with the usual excitement and perkiness. 

            "Oh! We're so sorry! Seifer, Raijin, Fujin. We were in a bit of a hurry." Selphie apologized, finally noticing the people they crashed into. 

            "We heard." Seifer answered in his usual icy tone, proceeding towards the cafeteria. Raijin and Fujin followed close behind. 

            "Come on!" Selphie shouted to Irvine, running towards the auditorium.

            "Oh man." Irvine sighed, following her.

            The usual smell of hotdogs and home-cooked meals greeted the trio as they entered the cafeteria. The cafeteria ladies, who had always sort of admired Seifer, brightened as they saw him.        

            "One hotdog." Seifer ordered. They sat down at the nearest table as soon as their orders were completed.

            "I see you've returned, Seifer." Zell called out to him from the next table. 

            "Chicken-wuss, stuffing your face with hotdogs again, as usual?" Seifer bit back.

            "Why you-" Zell started but was cut off by Squall.

            "Hi Seifer." Rinoa greeted him.

            "So now you're a student here, I suppose?" Seifer asked.

            "Yep. I'm very excited." Rinoa answered. 

            Seifer just nodded and went back to his meal. He finished it in a hurry and went off alone. 

            "I'll see you around." He said to Raijin and Fujin, heading out of the cafeteria. 


	3. Default Chapter

Chapter 3: "Whatever"

            The gates, the main hall, and the fountains – everything was exactly as it was before. It was as if the battles never took place. As if the shiny floors were the only witness to the fallen SeeDs that had died in battle. 

            _Deaths that I caused._ Seifer let his thoughts flood his mind. He let his feet take him anywhere. Memories came back to him as he walked the halls of Garden. His mind wandered off and he didn't notice that his feet had taken him to the training center. 

            "Oh well. Might as well train."

            Aimlessly, he walked through the makeshift rainforest. Occasionally, monsters would attack him but he defeated them easily. Much to his dismay, he did not meet the T-Rexaur. 

            "Darn. I was hoping for some action."

He reached the secret area of the training center but purposely avoided it. He knew only too well that couples went there to make out into the wee hours of the morning. 

A few feet from the entrance of the secret area, he heard a familiar scream. Running back to check out what it was, he only saw blinding light. He reached the secret area and found it empty. No kissing couples, nothing. There was no sign of struggle of any kind. 

"Hello?" Seifer said to nothing. Deciding that he had no further business there, he headed back towards his dormitory. He then remembered the party. _That's why_. 

A few feet from the dormitory, he saw a figure standing by his door. It was Squall. He was wearing a dark suit.

"Can I have a word?" He asked.

"Make it quick, Leonhart. I have a party to attend." Answered Seifer, in his icy drawl.

Squall's eyes were serious. "I don't consider you my enemy, Seifer. Nor do I consider you my friend. Things stand where they used to before everything else happened. I don't blame you for the war, the battles, nothing. Except maybe this scar." 

"I don't need your sympathy, Squall. Get out of my way. Puberty boy." Seifer said, opening his door. 

"Whatever." Squall gladly complied and made his way to the party. 

_Are things really back to the way they used to be?_ Seifer thought. He entered his room and found things the way he left them months ago. He rummaged through his closet and found a shirt. He wasn't planning to go to the party but since he just said that he was, he might as well. He put his trademark cape over his shirt and ran his fingers through his hair. Ready, he made for the auditorium.


	4. Default Chapter

Chapter 4: Drinks all around

            The auditorium looked wonderful. Colorful ribbons hung here and there and mood lights were placed all around. 

            "Great job with the decorations, Selph," Rinoa commented.

            "Oh, thanks. I couldn't have done it without Irvine's help," said Selphie.

            "Yeah, man. All those ribbons." Irvine said, gesturing at the ribbons on display. "I had to put up those, that, that, those, and that whole row over there," he continued, pointing to the appropriate places where he fixed up the decorations. Upon closer scrutiny, the ones Irvine put up were a bit haphazardly done. 

            "No offense man, but those look a bit off," Zell said. 

            "Aw, come on Zell, give him a break. You ought to join the festival committee instead of just wasting your time on hotdogs and that board of yours," Selphie said, once again trying to convince Zell to join her committee. 

            "Yeah, they could use those muscles," Quistis said, by way of greeting, joining their table which laughed at what she said. Quistis was once again in full instructor regalia, having been recently instituted back into the faculty. 

            Squall was his usual pensive self, generally ignoring everyone on the table. Rinoa noticed this and asked him to dance. 

            "Oh no, not again. Don't you remember the last time we did this?" he playfully teased but nonetheless followed her onto the dance floor. He was definitely getting better and managed to step on Rinoa's feet just once throughout the whole song. They played a slow song and Squall pulled Rinoa close to her. In each other's arms, they slowly moved to the melody of the song, unaware of the world around them. 

            From afar, a tall figure was leaning against the wall, downing his fifth glass of wine. He was staring at the dancing couple, mind lost in his thoughts. He finished his wine and got another glass from a nearby tray. Seifer was determined to drink out his thoughts. 

            Once again, his vision went towards Squall and Rinoa. _Could I have loved her? Do I still love her?_

            From the corner of his eye, he saw the Headmaster and his wife Edea. Under Ultimecia's influence, Edea took advantage of Seifer and his dreams. She took his hopes and he believed her. _I was her knight. I failed…_

            More and more people took the dance floor; Zell and a girl in pigtails, Quistis and another instructor, and Irvine and Selphie. Even Raijin and Fujin were joining in on the festivities. Stealing a whole bottle of wine, he made to leave the party.

            "Going so soon, Seifer?" He barely heard Raijin call out to him. 


End file.
